Congress disapproves Oscar Puente for his railway management, at the request of the PP and with the support of ERC, Junts and Podemos

The PSOE, Sumar, Bildu and the PNV have spoken out against it, while the Canarian Coalition, UPN and the BNG have chosen to abstain. For his part, notable has been the non-appearance of Puente’s predecessor in office, the socialist José Luis Ábalos, who has been in the Mixed Group since the outbreak of the ‘Koldo case’.

To justify the initiative, those from Feijóo have argued that In Madrid there is an average of 2.5 railway incidents and illnesses dailywhile Rodalies registered three daily incidents in the first four months of 2024.

Other examples of the incidents that have led to this disapproval are the delays in Cercanías de Madrid due to the presence of smoke in the carriage of one train and the derailment of another, on August 9 and 14 respectively; when passengers who had been trapped on a train for hours broke the windows to avoid heat asphyxiation, on August 5; or the incident on October 3 in Catalonia, in which five Rodalies lines suffered delays due to a breakdown between Vilanova i la Geltrú and Sitges. More recently, last Tuesday a train on line R3 had to be evacuated due to a fire in the catenary.

Regarding medium and long distance, the PP recalled yesterday that Chamartín station is the “most infamous” due to its recurring collapses due to breakdowns that cause delays and crowding, affecting numerous lines, such as the high-speed lines that connect with the Valencian Community.

Puente claims its management

Despite these incidents, there have been several occasions on which the head of Transport has insisted on what he already stated in his first appearance in the Senate after the summer, that the train lives in Spain “the best railway moment in its history.” “There has never been a better rail service than the one currently being provided.” he stated then.

From the speakers’ gallery, the PP deputy, Cristina Teniente Sánchez, has criticized these statements and the “insensitivity” of the minister towards the “suffering transport users”, while denouncing that three out of four provincial capitals have increased Travel times with Puente in the ministry.

The same argument has been put forward Patricia Rueda, from Vox, remembering that cancellations of trips on trains “have tripled” in the last year. “Railway problems are increasing, desperation among users is growing and there is no money to fix it, there is no money for infrastructure, but there is money for advisors, media satellites and ideological nonsense,” the Vox deputy protested.

The Mediterranean corridor

The disapproval has been the last item on the agenda, on a day in which there have been quite a few questions to Puente about his railway management, among them that of the Junts per Catalunya Group, which has asked the minister about the need to have a Exclusive Mediterranean corridor for goods.

In response to this question, Puente has ruled out the construction of a new platform of international roads for freight traffic in the Mediterranean Corridor as it passes through the community, defending the solution of the third lane and that passenger traffic coexist with traffic. goods.

In order not to burden the commuter service of Catalonia (Rodalies), the Junts deputy Isidre Gavin He requested the construction of an independent platform for freight traffic, based on the fact that the Barcelona-Tarragona area is the third largest logistics center in Europe and that it does not receive the investments that it believes are necessary for the region. “We cannot support a Government that continues to neglect the economic reality of the territories,” he criticized.

Puente has shown his “strangeness” at this last statement, ensuring that since the change of Government in 2018, more than 7.2 billion euros and that 80% is already under construction or has been completed.

Regarding the request to go beyond a third rail, the minister has said that it is not contemplated “for the simple reason that it is neither necessary nor efficient”: “In an ideal world, goods and people would travel on separate networks “All our infrastructures would be close to maximum capacity with a maximally efficient system and they would also be built with the snap of a finger and without opposition from the territory, but that is not reality.”

«If the third lane had not been chosen and the separated platform had been chosen, would they have helped us convince the municipalities that refuse to accept that route? I am thinking, for example, of the Penedés area and its vineyards. “Would you help us convince the Penedés winemakers to run a new line through their estates?” added the minister.

The Minister of Transport has defended that the solution taken to create this third lane has allowed the Corridor to become a reality at this time. “I think it is important that we demand, that we vindicate, but that we also take into account the realities in which progress is being made in a tangible way,” he concluded.

There will be no transfer of the AP-9 to Galicia, for now

Another reason for the minister’s request to appear in the chamber was the situation of the Atlantic Highway, the AP-9, of which the BNG requests the transfer to the Xunta de Galicia. Puente has cooled down the possibility of such a thing happening, arguing that it is an infrastructure of international interest. “It is tremendously difficult,” he assured, despite saying he is open to parliamentary debate on it.

Puente took the opportunity to vindicate his management of the highway system, recalling that since Pedro Sánchez came to the Government in 2018 they have been free of tolls. 40% of the kilometers of the State’s highwaysall those in which their concession expired, and that this has meant “an annual saving of 1,400 million euros for users,” he stated.